Early Hick Lexicon — Sound Terms

Entries in the Sound Terms semantic field.

'u'u /ʔu.ʔu/

cry, weep (in sorrow/pain) (verb) — Often reduplicated for continuous crying [Sound Terms, Emotion Terms, Body Terms]

Proto-Hick *'uhu-'uhu

Onomatopoeic origin from crying/sobbing sound

bresubel /bre.su.bel/

shout, yell (verb) — Basic term for loud vocal expression [Sound Terms, Body Terms, Communication Terms]

Proto-Hick *bresu-belu

Shows typical compound formation with body part term

hahu /ha.hu/

laugh, laughter (noun) — Preserves original meaning through irregular sound change [Sound Terms, Emotion Terms, Body Terms]

Proto-Hick *hahu

Shows irregular sound change preserving original 'laugh' meaning while regular form *halu developed into 'good' (via hi-halu > 'il)

kasak /ka.sak/

wolf-like howl (noun) [Sound Terms, Animal Terms]

meltek /mel.tek/

song (noun) — Basic term for melodic vocal performance [Music Terms, Performance Terms]

melodic rhythm (noun) — Technical term for musical patterns [Music Terms, Sound Terms]

Proto-Hick *melu-takutaku

Shows preservation of first syllable of second element in compound reduction

rek /rek/

bark (of dog/wolf) (noun) — Basic term for canine vocalization [Sound Terms, Animal Terms]

Proto-Hick *reku

Shows onomatopoeic origin from sound of canine bark

takimer /ˈta.ki.mɛr/

echo (noun) [Sound Terms, Spirit Terms]

sound spirit (noun) [Sound Terms, Spirit Terms]

Reflects early animistic understanding of sound phenomena

takutak /ta.ku.tak/

rhythm (noun) [Sound Terms, Musical Terms]

Proto-Hick *takutaku

Preserves onomatopoeic reduplication

takutakal /ta.ku.ta.kal/

language (noun) [Language Terms, Sound Terms]

Shows conceptual link between rhythm and language

takutek /ta.ku.tek/

rhythm (noun) [Musical Terms, Sound Terms]

Proto-Hick *takutaku

Preserves onomatopoeic reduplication